The National Architecture Accounting Board is the only accreditation agency for professional degree programs in architecture. The purpose of accrediting is to establish that each degree program meets appropriate standards and provides the necessary education for an architect. The NAAB requires that degree programs feature general coursework, professional coursework and electives to provide a well-rounded architecture education. The architecture degrees should give students a competency in intellectual as well as spatial and technical skills, ground them in the history and cultural aspects of architecture and prepare them to meet architectural design challenges.
The NAAB grants accreditation on an ongoing basis. Programs that earn accreditation must continue to submit to reviews and undergo continuing studies and evaluations. Schools seeking to earn accreditation or to retain their accreditation begin with a written evaluation of their performance, followed by a peer review by volunteer educators, architects, regulators and others. This team prepares a visiting team report, reports on the school's progress and makes recommendations. Based on this report, the NAAB board determines whether to grant, reaffirm or deny the school's accreditation. This cycle repeats at least every six years.
As of January, 2011, there were 154 NAAB accredited programs at 123 different colleges or universities. Fifty-eight of those offer a Bachelor of Architecture Degree, 95 offer a Master of Architecture, and 1 offers a Doctor of Architecture. Other colleges are in the process of establishing architecture programs and are candidates for accreditation. To find an NAAB-accredited program, you can download the current list of such programs or use the NAAB search page to locate a specific program. The NAAB "Find Accredited Programs" page permits you to search by state and/or degree program offered or to select a region of the country on a map to find programs there.
Each type of professional degree program in architecture must meet certain standards for accreditation. A Bachelor of Architecture degree program must include 150 semester credit hours of professional studies and elective coursework. A Master of Architecture program must include 168 credit hours of professional studies and elective coursework, and 30 of those hours must be at the graduate level. A Doctor of Architecture program must include an undergraduate baccalaureate degree as well as a minimum of 90 graduate-level credit hours of professional studies and elective coursework. In addition, the program must meet all other NAAB Conditions for Accreditation.